Scarlett Fights the Good Fight

Scarlett Johanasson skipped out of the Osacrs for good reason. She was on a 10-day stint through India and Sri Lanka, raising awareness about global poverty with international agency Oxfam!

Above is Scarlett, 22, visiting the children of the Oxfam-funded Dalit school in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. How cute are they!

Said Scarlett, who is currently in India: “I met a young girl, Gudiya, at a school for Dalit children, a community considered to be the lowest class. She was an amazing, bright young girl, full of ambition and attending the fifth grade. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said ‘a government official’. Every morning she rises at three a.m. to study and then complete the household chores before walking for half an hour to school. I asked her how she felt she would be able to raise her family and also hold a government position. She responded confidently, ‘I can manage.’ Her self-pride and drive to succeed was an obvious outcome from her schooling.”

CLICK HERE to find out what Scarlett had to say about Sri Lankan Tsunami survivor Bandawathi Maitipe and her son Asela Abeytunga.

Go, go, Team Scarlett!

(Image via Adrian Fisk/Oxfam)

Said Scarlett of Sri Lankan Tsunami survivor Bandawathi Maitipe and her son Asela Abeytunga: “The devastation both directly and indirectly as a result of the tsunami is overwhelming. A mother who had received aid money to finance her small business and was living with her 25 year-old-son had lost both her husband and younger son as well as their home and tailoring shop, the only source of income. After two years, they are still waiting to be housed, after a long struggle with a landlord from whom they’ve had rented the house for the past fifty years. Afterwards, I went to visit a rural fishing community which Oxfam had fully irrigated, allowing people to live safely in a government development. After hearing such a devastating case that morning, seeing this village thrive gave me a sense of hope and progress. It was an incredible opportunity to see the grass roots approach being taken by non-governmental organizations, such as Oxfam, towards reconstructing the lives of this devastated country.”